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The article discusses gains by activist shareholders at several companies. Restaurant operator Yum Brands Inc., Prudential Financial Inc., and real estate investment company Boston Properties will all permit shareholders with at least a 3% ownership stake to nominate board directors. A decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to stop giving firms permission to block so-called proxy access measures has helped drive the trend.

The article discusses activism on the part of mutual fund managers BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group. BlackRock issued guidelines specifying circumstances under which the company would oppose the re-election of corporate board members. Vanguard has said it expects boards to be independent of company management. Paul Hodgson of consultancy BHJ Partners says both Vanguard and BlackRock can exert large influence through their actions.

The article discusses concerns about corporate governance at retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expressed in May, 2014 by shareholder-advisory service Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). ISS says Wal-Mart needs to be more forthcoming about a foreign-bribery investigation into the company, and has also raised questions about executive-compensation practices at Wal-Mart. ISS advised that shareholders not vote to re-elect Wal-Mart chairman S. Robson Walton.

The article discusses individuals who have served as directors for the same U.S. corporations for at least 40 years. Robert Ted Enloe III has sat on the board of bedding-and-commercial-fixtures producer Leggett & Platt Inc. for 44 years. Consideration is given to whether such long tenures benefit a firm. Ann Yerger of the Council of Institutional Investors says independent judgment can wane over the course of a lengthy board service.

The article discusses the role of proxy advisers in the investment industry as of May 2013, with information on proxy advising firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co. Topics include the sale of recommendations on how to vote in corporate elections, voting analysis by shareholders, investor attitudes, and shareholder lobbying for the control of corporate governance.

The article reports that chief executive John Hess of oil-and-gas company Hess Corp. will relinquish his position as board chairman in May 2013. John Hess has been challenged by a shareholder proposal to effect that change, as well as by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.'s bid to replace Hess' existing directors with a group of its choosing at Hess' 2013 annual meeting.

The article considers whether firms benefit when they split the roles of chief executive officer (CEO) and board chairman. Research by Ryan Krause and Mathew Semadeni of the Kelley School of Business found that in terms of shareholder returns, splits were beneficial to firms performing poorly but detrimental to those performing well. Chairman and chief executive James Dimon of banking company J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. will have his dual role put to a shareholder vote in May 2013.

The article discusses a forthcoming shareholder vote at banking company J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. on whether the chief executive and chairman roles at the firm should be split. At a meeting with investors Morgan chief executive and chairman James Dimon said he wanted to continue in both capacities. On May 7, 2013 proxy-advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended that Morgan shareholders approve splitting the positions.

The article discusses mass layoffs and job cuts at the U.S. department store chain J.C. Penney Co. as of April 2013, with information on corporate governance to increase sales under former chief executive officer (CEO) Ron Johnson. Topics include the reinstatement of CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman, corporate reorganization at J.C. Penney, and brand management of house brands at the department retail store.

The article discusses controversy in California's Silicon Valley over who should control technology companies. Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz favors letting firms' founders retain a controlling stake, while Craig Walker of technology incubator Firespotter Labs questions the wisdom of giving controlling power to a single person. Social-media company Facebook Inc. and Internet-search firm Google Inc. are among those whose founders have retained control.

The article discusses the growing incidence of firms splitting their chief executive and board chairmanship duties. Between 2007 and 2012 the fraction of Standard & Poor's 500 companies with an independent outside director has increased from 12% to 20%. Credit-ratings firm Moody's Corp. is among firms that have taken the chairman's job away from the chief executive officer in response to shareholder pressure.

The article, citing anonymous sources, reports that the board of directors of the banking industry firm J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will change the membership of its risk policy committee in response to losses of more than $2 billion in securities trading. Either director Timothy Flynn or director James Bell is expected to be named to the committee.

The article reports that the hedge fund Third Point LLC, a stockholder of Internet industry firm Yahoo! Inc., has demanded that the company's board of directors dismiss Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Scott Thompson. The demand follows the admission by Yahoo! that Thompson misstated his academic record on his résumé, claiming a degree in computer science as well as accounting when he had only the latter. INSET: Questionable Credentials.

The article considers the appointment of women executives as chief executive officers (CEO) of large corporations. A trend is examined in which U.S. corporations are recruiting women executives considered likely to be candidates for the CEO position in the future or are participating in activities which are considered preparation for that job such as attending conferences of executives within their industries and serving as directors of corporations.

The article examines the management of Bank of America Corp. It is reported that the company will create an advisory board to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Moynihan on strategic planning of expansion into international markets. It is also reported that the bank has hired the executive search firm Ridgeway Partners to locate candidates to become new directors of the corporation, as several board members are nearing mandatory retirement age.

The article considers corporate governance and investor relations at wireless communications systems company Sprint Nextel Corp. The relationship between the company's board of directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dan Hesse is examined. It is noted that Chairman of the Board Jim Hance has met or communicated with the company's major stockholders to discuss its plans to return to profitability and listen to complaints.

The article examines corporate governance at the conglomerate corporation 3M Co. The inability of the board of directors of 3M to agree on a succession plan to either replace or extend the contract of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) George Buckley is discussed. Buckley's contract will expire in February, 2012 when he reaches 65 years of age.

The article examines the dismissal of Mark Hurd as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of computer industry firm Hewlett-Packard Co. The board of directors asked for Hurd's resignation after an investigation of a sexual harassment charge found irregularities in his expense accounts. A discrepancy between Hurd's behavior and a strict code of ethical conduct he instituted at the company in 2006 is discussed.

The article discusses the independence of boards of most large companies in the U.S. but some of those independent directors have close ties to the companies and executives they oversee. These include Stanford University president John Hennessy who has served as an independent director of technology firm Google Inc., Andrew McKenna of restaurant chain McDonald's Corp., and Charles Gifford and Thomas May who serve together on the board of financial services firm Bank of America Corp.

The article reports that the directors at HealthSouth Corp. have given assent to a bylaw that would reimburse some of the costs involved with an activist candidate's successful campaign for a seat on the firm's board. Chief executive Jay Grinney said the policy would provide a stronger voice to shareholders who aren't well-funded .

The article reports that shareholders of Royal Dutch Shell PLC rejected an executive compensation plan at a meeting in the Hague. Royal Dutch's board of directors had decided to award bonuses to executives including chief executive Jeroen van der Veer, even though the firm failed to meet performance criteria.

The article discusses the growing incidence among corporate directors of troubled companies of self-imposed pay cuts. Directors at Bell Microproducts Inc. reduced their retainers and fees by 30% for 2009. Board members at General Motors Corp. have lowered their pay three times over a four-year period.

The article reports that U.S. corporate boards of directors are increasingly becoming more aggressive in managing salaries of their Chief Executive Officers (CEO). Pressed by activist stockholders and government regulators, boards are cutting CEOs' ability to set their own compensation levels and evaluating management performance more stringently.

The article reports that activist investors seeking seats on the board of directors of U.S. corporations are finding surprisingly little resistance from company management. Hedge funds and other investors seeking management policy changes once had to anticipate proxy fights. Corporations have come to see such battles as too costly to pursue, and often self-defeating.

The article focuses on how and when corporate boards of directors decide to replace Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) under fire for poor financial performance or ethical questions. The decision is a problematic one, as the risk of letting a bad situation become worse is matched by the risk of premature action ending a recovery in progress and creating a power vacuum. CEO tenure has grown shorter from 1997-2007. The decision often hinges on whether the board has a successor available.

The article reports that since the Enron scandal, corporate directors are taking a more active role in corporate governance. Kirk Kerkorian's representative at General Motors, Jerome York, is forcing an alliance with Nissan and Renault. Representatives of the Chandler family have forced the Tribune Co.'s board to consider breaking up the company. Hewlett-Packard's spying case exemplifies the growing division between directors and executives.

The article looks at Pfizer Inc.'s dissatisfied shareholders. Shareholders began to appear at Pfizer's annual meetings in order to insist upon better corporate governance, especially in terms of executive pay restraint. Pfizer disclosed that chairman and chief executive Henry McKinnell would receive a large lump-sum retirement payout. The article also discusses the withholding of shareholder votes.

The article reports that an increasing number of corporate boards are imposing performance targets on stock options and stocks offered in their CEOs' pay packages. Amid complaints about excessive executive compensation, this is the latest strategy in an effort to tie CEO pay to performance. The increased emphasis on performance targets is intended to keep executives from reaping rich rewards for reasons unrelated to their leadership ability. Hoping to promote greater accountability, companies are turning to a variety of performance goals.

The article pays tribute to modern industrial management guru Peter Drucker.

The article looks at how corporate boards around the world are going global. Driven by a surge in cross-border takeovers, the clamor by shareholders worldwide for improved corporate governance and a rising pool senior executives with overseas experience, multinational businesses increasingly are tapping directors from outside their home countries. Advocates say the broadened geographic reach brings new perspectives to the boardroom.